“I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.”

— Napoleon I of France

Conversation with Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases (11 November 1816), Mémorial de Sainte Hélène, v. 4, p. 133 http://books.google.com/books?id=945jAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA133.
Context: I may have had many projects, but I never was free to carry out any of them. It did me little good to be holding the helm; no matter how strong my hands, the sudden and numerous waves were stronger still, and I was wise enough to yield to them rather than resist them obstinately and make the ship founder. Thus I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.

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Napoleon I of France 259

French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French 1769–1821

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“I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.”

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Napoleon I of France 259

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